County Attorney Allister Adel Leaves Hospital, but Still Not Doing Interviews

A short note from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office today said that Allister Adel was home from the hospital, but gave no indication of when she might return to work.

Following a previous fall at home, Adel suffered bleeding in the brain on Election Day and was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. She's made no public appearances since then, but statements attributed to her were released earlier this month indicating she was getting better.

Today, Chief Deputy Ken Vick and Chief of Staff Candice Copple of the office released the following statement: "Allister is now home from the hospital and continues to focus on her recovery. She has signed her oath of office and looks forward to serving as County Attorney. She is so appreciative of everyone’s well wishes and looks forward to seeing all of you in the new year."

No further information about her condition was available.

Adel, 44, is married with two school-age children. A career prosecutor and Republican, she won a tight race last month against Democrat Julie Gunnigle for the job as the county's chief prosecutor, a post that Adel had been appointed to in October 2019 after the resignation of Bill Montgomery, who now serves as an Arizona Supreme Court justice.

Adel's campaign announced on election night that she'd been rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery due to bleeding on the brain. Gunnigle was in the lead that night after the first round of votes were counted. But as Adel recovered from her surgery and more ballots were counted, she took the lead and retained her seat as head of one of the largest county prosecutor's offices in the country.

On December 4, the office released a statement from Adel in which she thanked the staff at Barrow’s Neurological Institute in Phoenix, but didn't say when she might be able to return to work.

"I feel stronger every day and while I know that recovering from a brain injury is a slow and steady process," she said. "I look forward to working with my medical team to ensure a safe and full recovery."